Other side of a mike

Frank and Marci Whyte, who help other couples fine-tune their weddings, recently found themselves on the other side of the microphone.

They got a great reception.

The Whytes, owners of RadioPro Mobile DeeJays, shared their nuptials with several hundred people they'd never met - fellow entertainers so eager to participate in the event that they submitted an audiotape and essay.

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The Myersville, Md., residents exchanged vows Monday, Jan. 6, at the Mobile Beat DJ Show and Conference in Las Vegas.

It was standing room only as about 600 people packed two ballrooms at Crowne Plaza Hotel for the ceremony billed as "the first wedding of DJs, by DJs, for DJs."

RadioPro is profiled in the January issue of Mobile Beat, a national magazine catering to the on-site entertainment industry. In that issue, the magazine also announced the competition for the DJ Dream Team that would lead the Whytes' reception.

RadioPro, with offices in Myersville and Washington, D.C., provides disc jockey performances, special effects lighting and television-style game shows for company functions, wedding receptions, mitzvahs and other celebrations.

Marci Whyte is the company's president and customer service manager, and Frank Whyte is vice president and operations manager. Both had been married before.

On their wedding day, the Whytes worked in their booth at the convention. After about six hours, Marci Whyte dashed off to dress for the wedding and have her hair and makeup done.

Robert Lindquist, editor-in-chief of Mobile Beat, walked the bride down the aisle.

"When Marci walked in, it looked like the Fourth of July with all the flashes going off," Frank Whyte says.

He estimates that about 2,000 pictures were taken during the wedding, which featured two bouquet throws, two garter tosses and nine cakes.

The minister performing the ceremony, the Rev. Frank Matcheson of California, had been a disc jockey for 20 years, Frank Whyte says.

"He was a man of God and a performer at heart," he says. "The ceremony was reverent, humorous and inspirational."

Dan Stevens, RadioPro assistant operations manager, was best man - and the only member of the wedding party the Whytes knew before their trip to Las Vegas.

After the ceremony, the seven selected for the DJ Dream Team - including Frank Whyte, Matcheson and Stevens - went to work. Each hosted part of the reception, highlighting innovative and entertaining techniques, according to Frank Whyte.

Some of RadioPro's innovations were featured in Mobile Beat.

They include Event Planner - a computer program created by Frank Whyte and Florida software developer Kris Earl Phillips that helps engaged couples and other party organizers in scheduling - and a personalized presentation folder that the company sends to prospective clients.

Defined roles

The Whytes say their partnership clicks because their roles are defined.

Frank Whyte, 36, who studied electrical engineering, describes himself as demanding and detail-oriented.

"I want everything planned," he says. "I need to make things work better."

Marci Whyte, 33, has a background in customer service.

"I like to consider myself somewhat of a wedding consultant," she says. "I like to get a vision of the way the customer likes things and hire the DJs according to that."

RadioPro, which incorporated in 1994, contracts with disc jockeys for services.

The Whytes say it meant a lot to have other entertainers present on their special day.

"It was a wonderful wedding; we couldn't have asked for anything more," Frank Whyte says.

After a brief honeymoon at the Grand Canyon and Sedona, Ariz., the couple returned to Maryland.

"Frank looked over at me on the plane, and I was a little teary eyed," Marci Whyte says.

Her husband asked what was wrong, and she said she felt a bit sad.

"We met so many great people, it felt like we were leaving family," she says.